Sings pitifully: amendments to the CAO have been submitted to the State Duma for consideration

The State Duma will consider a draft law amending the rules for appealing against protocols in administrative cases. It eliminates a gap in the legislation, which was brought to the attention of the Constitutional Court. The proposed changes clarify in which court it is necessary to file a complaint to motorists who do not agree with the protocol of the traffic police, lawyers say. Details - in the material "Izvestia".

Eliminate the legal gap

For consideration of the State Duma introduced amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation "On Administrative Offenses" (CAO RF), clarifying the rules of appealing decisions on administrative cases. The document is placed in the system of support of legislative activity of the Parliament. The amendments establish where and to whom it is necessary to file a complaint against a resolution drawn up by an official. According to the bill, such a complaint will need to be filed "in a higher body, a higher official or in the district court at the place of the offense".

Photo: TASS/Sergei Karpukhin

The explanatory note to the draft law states that the amendments to the legislation were developed on the basis of the ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which recognized "the lack of uniformity in the application by the courts of para. 3 ч. 1 part 1 of article 30.1 of the CAO of the Russian Federation in terms of determining the place of appeal of rulings on cases of administrative offenses not entered into legal force, issued by officials".

According to the current wording of the CAO, it is necessary to appeal a ruling "at the place of consideration of the case". The Constitutional Court noted that the wording "place of consideration of the case" is not specified in any way in the normative documents.

An exception to this rule are offenses detected by means of photo and video fixation, the Constitutional Court said. Such cases are considered by law at the place of committing an administrative offense.

Photo: TASS/EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN

Because of this uncertainty suffer not only car owners, but also judges, who are overburdened, said one of the authors of the bill, head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Yaroslav Nilov.

- Adoption of the bill will eliminate legal uncertainty and allow to appeal such decisions at the place of the offense, thereby significantly reducing the burden on judges, - said the parliamentarian.

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The amendments will take effect on January 1, 2025

The complaint will be considered faster

There is indeed uncertainty in the legislation as to which body or court to file a complaint with, said Sergei Radko, a lawyer of the Freedom of Choice movement. As an example, he cites a fairly common situation when several courts operate on the territory controlled by a particular division of the State Automobile Inspectorate.

- For example, the subdivision of the State Automobile Inspectorate of the North-Eastern Administrative District is located on Veshnykh Vody Street. This street is under the jurisdiction of the Babushkinsky District Court. What should be done if the employees of the State Automobile Inspectorate of SVAO recorded a violation, for example, on Akademika Koroleva Street, which is already under the jurisdiction of the Ostankinsky District Court? In what court in this case should a motorist who does not agree with the decision of the police file a complaint? - asks the lawyer.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

According to him, a similar situation is observed in other districts of Moscow, as well as in many regions of Russia. The jurisdictions of the territories where the traffic police unit is located and the place of committing a violation recorded by its officers do not always coincide. The lawyer notes that in such situations, the judges of the "wrong" court most often send the case file to their colleagues, in whose jurisdiction under the law is the consideration of the case. However, such a transfer noticeably slows down the already slow judicial process, says Sergei Radko. According to him, the emergence of clear wording and requirements in the legislation regarding the bodies and courts, in which to file complaints related to administrative offenses, including traffic violations, will make the procedure for their consideration more transparent and faster.

- The adoption of the relevant amendments will remove all questions: the complaint will have to be filed with the court at the place where the offense was committed. In the already mentioned example with Moscow it will be the Ostankinsky district court, as the conditional traffic violation occurred in the territory of its jurisdiction, - explained Sergey Radko.

Photo: TASS/Vladimir Andreyev

The proposed amendments concern exactly the appeal of protocols in administrative cases, but not the procedure for consideration of the case, emphasized the lawyer. As before, if the traffic violation was committed by a motorist away from home, he has the right to indicate in the protocol that requests to consider the case at the place of residence, said Sergei Radko.

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Remnants of feudalism

Tying the filing of a complaint on administrative material to a particular court, body or official - a kind of "vestiges of serfdom," said the Vice President of the National Automobile Union (NAS) Anton Shaparin. In his opinion, this procedure should be as simple and convenient as possible, so that motorists do not have to delve into the nuances of the jurisdiction of this or that court.

- Modern technologies make it possible to easily contact almost any point of the earth. Therefore, it is much more logical not to specify where exactly motorists should go with their "petition", but to provide in the legislation the possibility to consider cases related to traffic violations, as well as complaints of car owners against the decisions of traffic inspectors using digital services and videoconference mode. This will significantly save time for the participants of the process - both drivers and traffic inspectors - who will not have to be distracted from their official duties for a long time to visit the court," believes Anton Shaparin.